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Gambia News : Gambian Catholics ecstatic over Pope Benedict’s impending visit to Africa
A spokesperson for the Bishop of Banjul, who is Vicar General for the Catholic Church in The Gambia, Father David Jarjue said Catholics in The Gambia, are elated over Pope Benedict’s forthcoming visit to Cameroon.
Father David Jarjue, the second in command in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in The Banjul, said, “Africa is often viewed as a continent in the fringes, but with the Pope coming to Africa, it will feel to be at the centre of things rather than being sidelined.”
He continued, “Having just spent a short period at the helm and paying a visit to Africa, it will generate a feeling that Africa is a serious member of the Catholic Church”.
Father Jarjue said the Catholic Church in The Gambia was opposed to proposals for Catholic Priests to marry. He said the church in The Gambia was in line with a decision by the Vatican barring priests from marrying.
He remarked, “If one says that priests in Africa should marry, it raises the question, are we less human beings or what? We are not. We are equally human beings who have feelings and intellect like any human being”.
He added that the Catholic Church has a uniform policy on marital issues that applies to all priests. Father Jarjue said before one becomes a priest, he is quite aware of what it means to be a priest.
He explained that one becomes a priest after a vigorous training process, adding that Canon law requires that one is not ordained before the age of twenty four.
The Vicar General remarked, “One goes into priesthood fully aware of what it means to be a priest, and therefore this issue of whether a priest can get married is not something that we (Catholic priests) wish to elaborate on. The stance of the church is quite clear”.
On the ordination of women as priests, the Vicar General said this is not a realistic proposal as far as the Catholic Church was concerned. He pointed out that the Catholic Church was modelled on Jesus Christ who was a man who never ordained any woman as priest.
Father Jarjue was critical of gay marriage. He said gay marriage has no place in the Catholic Church. He remarked, “As far as I am concerned, gay marriage is unthinkable. It amounts to complete distortion of nature. Gay marriage has no purpose and I don’t think even animals involved themselves in such practices.”
He added that Christians live by values and not personal rights, adding that as long as one is a Christian, he or she lives by values of a community. He indicated that if one wants to deviate from those values, he should not call himself a Christian.
Father Jarjue saidgay marriage is simply ridiculous. “I know it is happening, but there is no way the Catholic Church can condone indecent practices such as gay marriage. There are certain orientations I call likes, but not as rights. Homosexuals should be psychologically examined.”
Father Jarjue said Christianity spread from Banjul to other parts of the country, adding that Catholics in The Gambia are just like members of one family. He said the people held each other like brothers and sisters.
On relations between Christians and Muslims, Father Jarjue said there is no division between Muslims and Christians when it comes to celebrating Christmas, Easter and New Year in The Gambia. He said,“ I think this has helped us to maintain peace and understanding between Muslims and Christians in The Gambia.”
He indicated that Christians and Muslims in The Gambia are related by blood.
He added, “There are instances when Muslims and Christians share the same family and this is quite helpful in promoting peace and unity in The Gambia”.
On the church’s role in national development, Father Jarjue gave the example of the St. Joseph’s Family Farm under the auspices of the Catholic Church which he said is rendering humanitarian assistance to refugees from the Casamance (a province in Senegal) and other vulnerable groups in The Gambia.
Throwing light on their intervention in the health sector, Father Jarjue said the Catholic Church operates a mobile clinic in the Western Region of the country, adding that they have health centres in Bullock and Basse (in the Western and Upper River regions respectively).
On their intervention in the education sector, he said the Catholic Mission currently operates several nursery, primary, junior and senior secondary schools in The Gambia.
On pilgrimages performed by Catholics in The Gambia, Father Jarjue, said they used to go to Popongeune in Senegal. He said Kunkujang Mariama in the Western Region of the country was later identified as a sacred site in 1987, and since then Christians now go there on pilgrimage on the first Saturday of every December. However he said Popongeune still attracted several Gambians.
Father Jarjue said Christians in The Gambia form about ten percent of the country’s population and that the Catholics account for about sixty percent of the total number of Christians in The Gambia. He said some Catholics do convert to Islam, but the rate of conversion is not alarming.
Explaining the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, Father Jarjue said Bishop Patrick Elison was the head of the Catholic Church, and he is the Vicar General, followed by Father Edward Gomez being in charge of inter-faith and inter-church relationship and that Father Gabisi is the canon lawyer. He said the church has a council of consultants that served as advisors to the Bishop.
Anne Marie Javouhey, the founder of the Roman Catholic congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny (established in 1807 in France) was the first Catholic missionary to visit The Gambia in January in 1823. She came to The Gambia with a Senegalese girl called Florence and other Sisters like St Adele and St. Marce. They were in The Gambia on the invitation of the British Governor Charles MacCarthy.
Whilst in The Gambia, Anne Maric Javouhey, stayed at the hospital in Bathurst (now Banjul) and helped to reorganize it. She also made plans for a school for liberated African children in The Gambia. She left The Gambia for Sierra Leone after about ten weeks. She was accompanied to Sierra Leone by Florence.
Catholics in The Gambia believe that the arrival of the Holy Christ Fathers in the country on 19 January 1849 was an epoch in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in The Gambia. They believe that this period gave birth to the continuous presence of Catholic priests in the country.
The Catholics in The Gambia believed that the year 1911 was an “unlucky year” for the Church in Banjul because this was the period when three of the priests who served as missionaries, namely Father Maehan, Father Mortimer Vaughan from Ireland and Father Gueguen died from various illnesses.
The year 1936 saw the introduction of the Catholic Church in Basse (the Upper River Region of The Gambia). This church was established with support from the United African Company, a trading company that provided materials and labor for the construction of the Church.
Pope Pius XII raised the Prefecture Apostolic of The Gambia to the status of Diocese on 24th June 1957. It was given the title, Diocese of Bathurst (now Banjul) in The Gambia.
The Catholics in The Gambia with their guest Archbishop Thiandoune of Senegal celebrated The Gambia’s independence on 19th February 1965 in the form of a mass held at the main Catholic Cathedral in Banjul.
According to reports, diplomatic relations been The Gambia and the Vatican were established when Alhaji Ousman Semega-Janneh presented credentials to Pope John Paul II on 27th March 1979, and Archbishop Johannes Duba presenting his credentials on 29th February 1980 to former President Dawda Jawara.
The eighties and nineties saw the ordination of a number of Gambian priests who now out-number the expatriate priests. The Catholics are now found in all the regions of the country.
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